Banjo



A. FRANIC May 28, 1929.

BANJO Filed June 12, 1926 h NN \& av x INVENTOR. flafqv 'i mzzz'c- BY I ATTORNEY.

Patented May 28, 1929.

aUNl'TED STATES 7 women FRANIG,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF FORT RECOVERY, OHIO, ASSIGNOR 'IO TAMBORITZA MANUFAC- TUBING COMPANY, OF FORT RECOVERY, OHIO.

BANJO.

Application filed June 12,

' a tone superior in tone value. and sweetness to conventional forms of banjos.

A furtherobj set is to provide transversely disposed bars'beneath the sounding board for bracing said board, the ends of which bars are disposed in recesses in theinner walls of the wooden body, thereby bracing said body as well as the sounding board. The bars are preferably glued to the sounding board and in the recesses of the hollowed out body.

A further object is to provide one side of the body with a channeled extension in which is received a reduced portion of the neck of the banjo, and wedges cooperating with shoulders of the banjo body and the neck and forming means for forcing said neck inwardly into close engagement with the body and rigidly connecting the neck to the body, said reduced portion of the neck is preferably provided with adhesive as well as the wedges when they are applied to the body, and the wedges hold the neck rigidly into position during the drying of the adhesive.

With the above and other objects in view the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter set forth, shown in the drawing, described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the banjo.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the banjo.

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the banjo body taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring. to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the body of the banjo which is turned or otherwise cut from a single block of material to form relatively thin walls 2 and a chamber 8. One side of the body 1 is provided with an extension 4 having a chanme Serial No. 115,657.

portion has substantially the same vertical cross sectional area as'the channel 5, and inassembling the neck and body said restricted portion '10 is placed in the channel 5, and after which wedges 10 are driven between the shoulders 9 and the shoulders 11 which will draw the shoulders 8 into close binding engagement with the outer end of the extension 4:, and after which additional wedges or pins 12 may be driven into'the registering-recesses 13. \Veclges 10, pins 12 and the restricted portion 10 as well as the channel 5 are preferably provided with an adhesive, for instance glue when assembled, and it will be seen after the wedges have been driven to position the adhesive when dry will form a rigid structure which can not loosen and will not allow the wedges to work loose.

The body 1 is braced transversely by means of brace bars 15, which have their ends disposed in recesses 16 in the opposite walls 2 and preferably glued in said recesses. The upper sides of the bars 15 are preferably fiush with the upper side of the body 1 and preferably adhesively connected to the underside of the sounding board 17 which takes the place of a conventional sheepskin. Sounding board 17 is adhesively secured to the upper side of the body 1, the upper sides of the bars 15 and the upper side of the neck, as well as the extension 14:, therefore it will be seen that a rigid body is formed which will not rattle or interfere with the tone of the device, thereby insuring a quality of tone far superior to banjos as at present constructed. It has been found by providing a wooden sounding board, instead of a skin over a body shell, hollowed out of a solid block of wood, the banjo so formed gives a tone superior in tone value, adding to the sweetness of tone and enhancing the quality of tone over and above the conventional banjo construction.

The invention having been set forth what is claimed as new and useful is 1. A stringed musical instrument comprising a wooden body member having a cham ber therein and formed from a single piece of wood, an extension carried by one side of said bodymember and having a radially body member at one end of the reduced portion and strings attached to the body member and extending across said body member andconnected to the neck.

2. The combination with a stringed musical instrument body formed from a single piece of wood having a radial hannel formed therein, ofa neck, means for connect ng said neck-tosaidbody, said means comprising spaced shouldersonopposite sides of the neck, the portion of the neck between the shoulders being disposed in the channel of the body member, and wedges cooperating with the body member and shoulders on one side of the body member whereby said neck is forced into close binding engagement with the body'membei. V p I 3. The combination with a wooden chambered body member of'a stringed musical instrument,'haying a radial channel formed therein, of aneck extending through the channel in one side oi said body member, shoulders carried by the neck within the body member,"shoulders carried by the neck outside thebodymember, and wedge-members;

interposed" between the first mentioned shoulder and the body member and forming means whereby the last mentioned shoulders are forced into close binding'engage- 1ronentwith the outer side of the body memer. I

4. The combination with ajwooden chambered body meinbe'r of a stringed'mus'ical instrument, having a radial channel formedv therein, of a neck extending through the channel in one side of said body member, shoulders carried by the" neck within the body member, shoulders carried by the neck outside the body member, wedges interposed between the first mentioned shoulders and the body: member and forming means whereby the last mentioned shoulders are forced into close binding engagement with the outer side of the bodymember', and lock pins dismemberand the neck. I s V V V Initestimony whereof I afiix my signature.

' ADOLPH FRANIC. 

